Title: Feed Her a Line: Bridging the Gender Digital Divide
Author:Carol Stewart
Source:God's Politics Blog
Date (published):02/11/2010
Date (accessed):04/11/2010
Type of information:blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Over the last decade, cell phone subscriptions have skyrocketed (4.6 billion as of February 2010) and recent innovations have converted simple phones into powerful tools for the developing world by providing grassroots solutions to a number of basic needs and enabling civil society through platforms such as:
Mobile money, which turns SIM cards into bank accounts
Sproxil, an application that allows end-users to fight drug counterfeiting
Ushahidi which enables instant aggregation and mapping of information transmitted via SMS for crisis response
FrontlineSMS, a mass two-way SMS platform for raising public awareness and conducting surveys
With new, creative uses for cell phones continually emerging, this simple but powerful technology has become an essential tool for providing basic needs and enabling those living on less than $2 per day to access information and services not otherwise available. Furthermore, if appropriately harnessed, mobile technology could be key to advancing effective solutions to gender inequalities and mitigating women’s rights violations, including problems such as gender-based violence or the unequal participation of women in political and economic spheres.
Women, however, are being left behind. Women are 21 percent less likely than men to own a mobile phone in the developing world. In an effort to combat this gender digital divide, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently launched the mWomen initiative — a partnership between the U.S. State Department and the GSM Association."

Title: The Dangers and Opportunities of Girls in Cyberspace
Author: Wayan Vota
Source: ICTWorks
Publisher: Inveneo
Date (published): 02/08/2010
Date (accessed): 03/08/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Girls in Cyberspace: Dangers and Opportunities" (PDF) from Plan USA examines both the challenges and empowering possibilities facing girls when accessing ICTs (Information Communication Technologies). In many ways, technology has facilitated girls’ ability to do what they were already doing: connecting, learning and sharing. ICTs have also increased their opportunities to do these things and to interact beyond their immediate communities.
Although adolescent girls are not a homogeneous group, and the way they choose to interact with ICTs may vary according to their location, social-economic status, capacity for mobility and personal inclination, there are some common threads emerging from Plan’s analysis."

Title: Women Forge Ahead in India: Internet and the Public Forum
Authors: Kavita Karan, Dr. Rohit Raj Mathur
ISSN: 1712-4441
Source: The Journal of Community Informatics, Volume 5, Issue 3 (2010)
Date (published): 05/05/2010
Date (accessed): 23/07/2010
Type of information: peer-reviewed article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Women must be included and empowered to compete in this internet-driven global economy. The economic stakes are too high to do otherwise. This study provides an understanding of the economic and social impact on women working in the government launched E-seva (electronic-service) project that provides integrated services through a single window system. The study through interviews and surveys provides an understanding of how Internet and new technologies are aiding in the transformation process in empowering the much deprived poor Indian women. Apart from increasing the access and use of ICTs, it is resulting in economic independence and improved social status.-which is the very basic need for women in India

Title: Is ICT empowering women in Egypt? An empirical study
Author: Mona F. Badran
Pages: 34 pp. 
Date (published): 11/03/2010
Date (accessed): 06/04/2010
Type of information: conference paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
In this study we will focus on the impact of ICT ownership on the gender divide and whether is ICT really empowering women in Egypt. Furthermore, we will explore the effect of ICT on women’s lives in relation to other factors like education and income. Finally, recommendations are given to the policy maker in order to increase ICT’s role in empowering women in Egypt and enhance the gender equality. The contribution of this paper is the creation of ICT ownership index from the sample data ELMPS and then creating a women empowerment index as well. Results reveal that ICT ownership index is largely influenced by education and gender, while ICT ownership index has a significant impact on women empowerment in Egypt. However, controlling for other individual characteristics like women’s occupation and economic activity, ICT ownership index becomes statistically insignificant.

ICT and Development - Research Voices from Africa. International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), Technical Commission 9 – Relationship Between Computers and Society. Workshop at Makerere University, Uganda. 22-23 March 2010